Rod-tensioning device



Sept. 8, 1925; 1,552,749

lA. F. LA FON ROD TENSIONING DEVICE Original Filed Sept 22, 1920Patented Sept'. 8,

ALPHONSE FEL-1X La roN, or'srwartnm NEW JERSEY.'

RoDmENsIoN'ING DEVICE.

Application ined september 22,1920, `serial No. 412,165. Renewed.February 2 1924.k

T0 all whom t may B 'e it known that I, ALrHoNsE FELIXV concern LA FON,a citizen of the United States, and a in thecounty of New ',Jeisey,.have

ing Devices, of which the following 'is a specification.

; The present invention relates to an improvenu'ent in rod tensioningdevices, one y h p construction, the vbearing block l2 ordinarilyVobject being to prov may be useful more ide an appliance whicparticular-ly in tightening rod clamps `such for exampleasware commonlyused lnconcrete construction. y

One embodiment of my invention isf-illustrated 'in' the 'drawings`accompanying the present specification,

`and in which Figure 1 is 'a view in elevation, some portion beingbroken away Vtions being shown in section, and

Figure 2, a view 2-2 of Figure 1.

:longitudinal vertical in section on the line The device illustrated inthe draw-ingsas an embodiment of a housing 1, having operativeV'relation ,a engaging tractor means member 3 a my invention includesfor supporting in bearing block l2, -a rod thrust receiving ro-ller 4,and means 'for -actuatingithe tractor member.

The bearing block ..2 is, providediwithja passageway 5 adapted to thetree endof-a lclamp rod i6. Thethrust receiving roller 4 a shaft 7journaled is lrotatably .mountedfon in the housing -1 fand positionedlat one side of the 1r-oid "6 opposite the tractor `member 3, saidtractor member being provided with rod biting deformations at itsperipheral surfacesuch as teeth 8.

The tractor meniber 3- is fmounted .cto rotate on a shaft 9 journaled inslots 10 formed in the housing 1 andhaving their longitudinal axesinclined with respect to the llongitudinal a-Xis of the rod 6.

The tractor member i may be actuated by means of gears 11 operativelypositioned 12 journaled in the to be rotated manual 13 secured to theworm carrying shaft 14.

Vhere the tractor member with teeth such as 8,

with respect to a worm housing 1 and adapted ly by means of a handlek Yoperator actuates the worm 12, the shaft 9 f will be forced toward 'thelower end of slot 3 is provided these teeth may extend across the entirewidth of said member and mayV engage similarly shaped lnteriorlyarranged recesses in th e gears 11. The tractor and other por- Figur-e1.

receive and guide vtightening rod yclarnps,

against the upper end member I3 is also preferably made in two vsimilarportions so that when the gears 11 and the members 3are assembled withthe worm bears 'against `,a rod .clamp noty shown A.but

v l12, there may be sufficient relative- Vmovement of rotation betweenvthe two parts which Ais usually so .assembled that, when the properpositioning of themembers lhas 'been attained the .clamp maybe'tightened toholdwsa-id members inthe desired position.With'theblockpositioned as described andthe rod 6 passing V through Atheopening 5 in said block and between the .tractor member 3 andthe roller4,"the operator will actuate the worm 12 to' drive the tractor lmember'3 j i'n the direction of the arrow, There will be 4relative ymovementbetween the tractor 3 and the rod -6 when thefmanual driving rior-ce visapplied, but, whether Vthe device moves or whether the :rod moves willdependupon lthe character ofthe adjustment being vmade;v Thus, if thedevice were.

slack `in Ta cable,

itis likely that the appara-V tus will remain IiiXed as lto positionwhile `,the cable wouldbemo'vedth-roug'h the =open ing 5. 'Howeven 1napplying thelldeviceto it is likely, that the position ofthe rod would'remain fixed while the tractor wouldmove along said rod only to the'extentpermitted by the yielding of the forms being clamped together.

In order that the device may be more readily :attached tothe end oftherod 6,the bearing block 2 may be pivotally mounted at 15. Furthermore,the space between the roller 4 and the tractor member 3 .may `be beingused to take up the ,Y

varied Vto permit passage of the free end of i Thus, when the shaft 9bears of the slots 10 there will be a maximum space between the tractor3 and the roller 4. However, when the the rod 6.

10 -and, the greater the resistance to relative movement between rod 6and tractor member 3, the greater willbe the thrust of shaftr9 towardits lowermost position with respect to the slots 10 and consequently a.more secure gripping or biting of the teeth 8 into the metal of the rod6.

Besides such advantages as will be obvious from the simplicity andruggedness of the construction hereinabove described, it will also benoted that this construction provides means for automatically gainingand holding each increment of adjustment made by operation of thedevice. In other words, there will be no slip when the rod is undertension or' the clamp members are under compression. Furthermore, theeffort involved in actuating the devices operates in such a directionthat the danger oi side slipping or uneven pressure against Vthe clampor the forms is avoided.

What I claim is:

l. A rod clamp tightener comprising a housing, a bearing block adaptedYto emf brace a clamp rod, a rotatable tractor' member slidably mountedin said housing, aV

thrust receiving and rod engaging roller also mounted in the housing,and means for imparting a combined sliding and rotating movement to thetractor member.

2. A rod clamp tightener comprising a housing, a rod guiding bearingblock, a tractor member journaled in the housing at one side of the pathor' the rod and slidable obliquely toward and away from said path, aroller journaled at the opposite side ot' said path, and means formoving the tractor toward said roller and for actuating the tractor.

3. A rod clamp tightener comprising a housing, a rod engaging tractormember, a rod engaging roller opposed thereto, means `tcr actuating thetractor member, and a rod guiding Vand clamp pressing bearing mem- `berpivotally mounted on the housing to receive and guide the end or' aclamp rod toward and between said tractor member and said roller. c

Y 4. A rod clamp tightener comprising a housing, a rod engaging tractormember, a rod engaging' roller opposed thereto, and means for actuatingthe tractor member comprising a worm gear secured to the tractor, a wormjournaled in the housing in operative relation to said worm gear, and aworm yactuating shaft mounted in the housing and having its exposed orfree end extending in a direction away from the path of the rod.

5. A rod clamp tightener comprising a housing, a rod engaging rollerjournaledv therein, tractor means also journaled in the housing andcomprising a pair of rod engaging members having irregular peripheralsurfaces, said members being loosely mounted on a common shaft andindependently rotatable thereon, and means foroperatively rotating saidmembers.

6. A rod clamp tightener comprising a housing, ay rod engaging rollerjournaled therein, tractor means also journaled in the housing andcomprising a pair Yof rod en- 'gaging members having irregularperipheral surfaces, said members being loosely mounted on a commonshaft and independently rotatable thereon, and means for operativelyrotating said members including aV gear secured to each of the rodengaging members and co-opera-ting to form a worm gear, and a wormjournaled in the housing in operative driving relation to said wormgear.

7. A rod clamp tightener comprising a housing, a rod guiding "bearingblock, a tractor member journaled in the housing at one side ofthe pathof the rod and slidable obliquely toward and away from said path, aroller journaled at the opposite side of said path, and means for movingthe tractor towardsaid roller and for actuating the tractor, Ysaid meansincluding a worm gear and a worm journaled in said housing and hav ingits longitudinal axis disposed substantially parallel to the slidingdirection of the tractor member.

8.*A rod clamp tightener comprising, in combination, a housing, a thrustreceiving 'roller 4rotatably mounted thereon, a tractor `member mountedthereon, a guide member pivotally mounted thereon, and means to rotatesaid tractor member also mounted thereon.

In testimony whereof, I have signed my name to this specii'ication this2l day of September 1920.

ALPHONSE FELIX LA FON.

